(LEVIS, Quebec) — In a historic milestone for the Canadian shipbuilding industry, Davie on Wednesday officially began construction of the Polar Max icebreaker, a vessel that, once delivered by 2030, will redefine Canada’s Arctic capabilities.
Uniquely, Polar Max will be constructed through an innovative industrial collaboration between Canadian-controlled facilities in Helsinki, Finland, and Levis, Quebec. Construction on the Polar Max hull will begin at Davie’s Helsinki Shipyard, which has built 100 percent of the complex medium to heavy icebreakers delivered from Finland over the past 25 years.
The largest proportion of the work on Polar Max, and delivery of the ship to the Canadian Coast Guard, will be from Davie’s home facility in Levis, which is simultaneously undergoing an $840 million upgrade. This will secure Canada’s long-term ability to design and build complex ships for current and future Arctic programs. The hybrid build strategy will accelerate the delivery of the ship by several years ahead of the original schedule. It will also bring forward job creation and the transfer of shipbuilding know-how to Canada, while stimulating Canada’s maritime supply chain.
“Today’s steel-cutting ceremony is more than the start of construction of one very special ship. It’s the start of a new chapter in Canadian Arctic leadership,” said James Davies, CEO of Davie. “The Polar Max represents how trusted allies can collaborate to deliver strategically vital projects when they are needed most. We want to thank the governments of Canada and Quebec for their vision, and we are determined to deliver this ship on time and on budget.”
Polar Max is an example of what can be achieved as part of the Icebreaker Collaboration Effort (ICE Pact) – a trilateral initiative between Canada, Finland and the United States to design and build Arctic and polar icebreakers – and will be the first polar icebreaker to be built collaboratively between Europe and North America.
Polar Max is a production-ready heavy icebreaker designed to operate in some of the world’s harshest conditions. The vessel will support Canada’s Arctic sovereignty, critical scientific missions, environmental protection efforts, and maritime security.
– Davie
